Ethics. That's all I could think about from the very beginning of "Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon." Why does journalism grad school student Taylor Gentry (Angela Goethals) not believe Leslie Vernon (Nathan Baesel) when he outlines in gruesome detail the way he intends to kill a group of high school kids? Why do her two cameramen not believe him? And, even if they didn't believe him, why does it take so bloody (no pun intended) long for them to put the words "journalism" and "ethics" together into a coherent thought?
We're introduced to the world of Glen Echo, Maryland, by Gentry, a grad student looking to do a story on the mind of a serial killer. She mentions Freddy (Krueger), Michael (Myers) and Jason (Voorhies) in the build up to meeting Vernon. Clearly, in the movie's reality, these monsters really did exist. In the course of documenting Vernon, Taylor is taken through every nuance, every little step a serial killer may go through in the lead up to the big event. She even meets a man who has "retired" from the "business" who gives Leslie pointers. As with any other horror film, the final act is the payoff: in a small farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, a group of high school kids party. Until Vernon shows up...
(Any first year journalism student has had to grapple with the morality of playing god, being the arbiter of when to stop filming the story and when to report it. The moment Taylor figures out this is "for real" comes wholly too late. I couldn't help but wonder why she didn't err on the side of caution and report Leslie to the police. The simple, in-movie answer is that there would have been no movie if she did.)
We, as the audience, are meant to take certain leaps of faith with this movie. We're supposed to accept the fact Taylor can find Leslie Vernon, a boy who was supposedly thrown down a waterfall as a young child (we find out later this man isn't Vernon, but another person...a wholly unneeded plot element). We're supposed to accept the fact Leslie wants to be interviewed and documented. We're supposed to accept the fact Taylor never uses her brain to come to the conclusion that this man may just plan on carrying out the murders. We're supposed to accept the fact that Freddy, Jason, Michael, Chucky and a whole host of film serial killers are real. And, lastly but not last, we're supposed to accept the fact Taylor-despite having seen horror films-has no idea she is being set up as the virgin Leslie is after.
All of those "facts" strain suspension of disbelief entirely too much. One or two leaps of faith I can understand. But when the central premise of the film is dependant on the audience going along with the distorted combination of reality and fiction they can't make sense of, the narrative falls apart.
"The Rise of Leslie Vernon" is clearly trying to reinvent the horror genre, much like "Scream" did back in the 90s. Truthfully, it has more in common with "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" than any other genre film I can think of. This killer, like Freddy in that film, exists in "reality." The supporting characters-or the road kill, whichever term you prefer-all understand the conventions of horror movies. The red herring, the sanctity of virginity, the killer's childhood, the savior, the twist...Vernon actually runs step-by-step through all of these pieces. The audience follows along because we are versed in horror language. Even Taylor understands, but she's so wrapped up in SPOILER something (we're never sure what), that she can't see the obvious: she is the target.
Since we, the audience, have seen horror movies for seemingly eons, the ending doesn't provide punch on any level. The confrontation, involving death, blood, running, dark spaces...it's boring. We know who's going to survive by virtue of "Halloween" or "Scream." Movies are not created in a vacuum, something "The Rise of Leslie Vernon" seemingly understands only to forget at the drop of a hat. In order to challenge the audience, to give them something new, the rules have to change. Just because "that's the way Freddy/Jason/Michael did it" is not an acceptable reason for the status quo to remain unchanged.
That's the greatest failing of this film: it gives credit to the audience's intelligence and then snatches the credit away instead of giving us something we haven't seen before. Even the scene playing over the end credits is as obvious as a tag can get. Of course the body wheeled into the morgue is Leslie. Of course he didn't die when the building he was in went up in flames...even though his head was caught in an apple juice vice. Of course Taylor, in the final battle, doesn't adhere to the now-clichéd idea the killer ALWAYS come back, which is why you make damn sure he's dead.
The cast of mostly unknowns ("Freddy" Robert Englund appears in a couple small scenes as the Dr. Loomis-inspired character Doc Halloran) performs reasonably well with the material they're given, though the role of Leslie is brought to life with particular zest by the charismatic Baesel. He doesn't have the look of a serial killer; he actually reminded me several times of "Superman Returns" director Bryan Singer-boyish, innocent, guy-next-door...not sadistically violent and demented.
There are also several references to the pantheon of horror films in the background. Kane Hodder (Jason) turns up in a cameo on Elm Street; Zelda Rubinstein ("Poltergeist") plays a small role; the girls in white playing jump rope from the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series turn up in the background; Leslie's serial killer friend Eugene has a replica of the Elm Street house in his home; and more I no doubt missed.
Despite "Behind the Mask" unfolding by the numbers, it does provide pieces of serial killer mentality not showcased in other films. We've all wondered why the victim runs into the closet when the killer is hot on their heels. Apparently, according to Leslie, the closet is like the womb, a safe place, an off limits place. This feeds into the idea of phallic (male anatomy) versus yonic (female) imagery. The weapons the female will grab to attack her stalker are phallic; the closet, representing the womb, are yonic. (Which, in turns, all feeds into the theory that virgins are the only pure people, and thus, able to attack the killer.)
"Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon" is a low budget, blink-and-you'll-miss-it "horror" film that doesn't take the genre anywhere new. I could accept a run of the mill serial killer film if the participants weren't this stupid. The filmmakers want the audience to believe the characters exist in a reality close to ours, but they don't use any semblance of rationality or logic throughout the production.
For that reason, "Behind the Mask" finds itself saddled with a 4 out of 10. Director Scott Glosserman, in his directorial debut, hits all the standard notes without effectively building up tension or audience goodwill. This is a new idea, one that could have succeeded if the genre was twisted on its ear. We've all seen this before.